I'm currently using a Thinkpad X201, with a first gen i7 processor, 8GBs of ram and an SSD.
I want to purchase a new computer to own a faster machine.
Currently I'm mostly using the thinkpad on my desk with two external monitors.
On the other hand, the battery life of it is pretty good and I like that it's small and lightweight.
I'm not a gaming person, so I don't need a discrete graphics card. I'm mostly using either Linux or FreeBSD with single-boot, but for Photoshop and school-work I sometimes need to work with windows. If I had two graphics cards I could forward one to QEMU and get near native response times on VMs.
Last but not least, one part of me wants to experience building a desktop.
Calculating the expenses, building a desktop would cost me arround 550 euros. But in the same price range I could buy a low-end 7th gen kaby lake laptop.
I know that desktop processors are much better than their laptop counterparts.
This question has been eating me away for the last 6 months. On one hand, the performance of my current machine is bearable, on the other hand I think I'm missing out on the speed of newer processors and limiting myself.
What would you do,
is desktop still relevant for dev-work in 2017?
Will I experience any difference in day to day use (heavy browsing, emacs, photoshop, occasionally an IDE) if I buy a 7th gen laptop instead of a 7th gen desktop?
I want to purchase a new computer to own a faster machine.
Currently I'm mostly using the thinkpad on my desk with two external monitors.
On the other hand, the battery life of it is pretty good and I like that it's small and lightweight.
I'm not a gaming person, so I don't need a discrete graphics card. I'm mostly using either Linux or FreeBSD with single-boot, but for Photoshop and school-work I sometimes need to work with windows. If I had two graphics cards I could forward one to QEMU and get near native response times on VMs.
Last but not least, one part of me wants to experience building a desktop.
Calculating the expenses, building a desktop would cost me arround 550 euros. But in the same price range I could buy a low-end 7th gen kaby lake laptop.
I know that desktop processors are much better than their laptop counterparts.
This question has been eating me away for the last 6 months. On one hand, the performance of my current machine is bearable, on the other hand I think I'm missing out on the speed of newer processors and limiting myself.
What would you do,
is desktop still relevant for dev-work in 2017?
Will I experience any difference in day to day use (heavy browsing, emacs, photoshop, occasionally an IDE) if I buy a 7th gen laptop instead of a 7th gen desktop?